Glenn Murray admits Albion have made a better start to life in the Premier League than what they maybe expected.

The Seagulls returned to the top flight of English football after a 34-year absence this year and have picked up 15 points from their opening 11 games.

Brighton went into the international break on the back of a four-game unbeaten run and are back in action on Monday when Stoke visit the Amex for a 8pm kick-off.

Murray top-scored with 23 goals in last season’s promotion-winning campaign and now has four goals in the last three Premier League games, after an ankle injury limited his game time at the start of the season.

He feels Albion are learning all the time in the Premier League after promotion from the Championship and said: “We’ve done very well and we’ve got more points than we probably thought we would have had.

“I think the promising thing is we’ve done it all through learning a lot about the league.

“A lot of the squad were new to the Premier League and it’s slightly different from coming up from the Championship, so we’ve done well to pick up points while learning.”

The team’s mindset has also changed from the past few seasons. After battling at the top end of the Championship for several seasons – and losing in the play-offs three years out of four before gaining promotion – the goal this season is simple; to remain in the Premier League.

On the differences compared to last season, Murray said: “It’s a different end goal. In the Championship you’re always looking to push on and hoping to get promoted or into the play-offs, whereas in the Premier League, especially for newly-promoted clubs, it’s about keeping your place.

“It’s a whole different ball game. More than anything, it’s about keeping the back door shut and hoping to put points on the board – nick a goal and nick three points.

“Compared to last year – and not only last year but the last two years for Brighton – the club has won a lot of games, so this year was always going to be very different for us as players, staff and fans.

“We’re not going to win as many games as what we won last year week in, week out but we’re picking points up and there’s a good feeling amongst the boys and the place.

“This year we’ve got to learn there will be a point where we’ll go three or four being beaten and that’s when we’ve got to show our character.”